Plant and a method for extracting puree, or juice from food products of high sizes

ABSTRACT

A plant (1) for cold extraction of puree, or juice, from a fresh food product of vegetable, or animal origin, includes a treating machine, for example a softening machine (20) downstream of which an extraction machine (30) is provided for extracting juice, or puree, from the food product of vegetable, or animal origin. Upstream of the treating machine (20) a cutting machine is provided (40,40′) in which a cutting means is arranged to cut the starting food product of vegetable origin into parts of predetermined size. More in detail, the cutting means (40) is arranged to cut the vegetable product (100) into parts (105) of size set between 50 mm and 130 mm, which are then fed to the treating machine (20).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. Utilityapplication Ser. No. 14/371,809 filed Jul. 11, 2014 and now U.S. Pat.No. 9,918,490; which in turn is a U.S. national phase filing ofPCTIB2013050148 filed Jan. 8, 2013; which in turn claims prioritybenefit of Italian Application Number PI2012A000004 filed Jan. 13, 2012;the contents of the aforementioned are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of machines for the foodindustry, and, in particular, it relates to a plant for extractingpuree, or juice from food products, such as food vegetables, for examplefruit, or animal, which when initially fed have large size.

The invention relates, furthermore, to a plant for extracting juice andpuree from food products, in particular of vegetable origin, or animal,which carries out this method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

As well known, a variety exists of types of plants for extracting juiceor puree mainly from food products of vegetable origin, fruit andvegetables, but also from animal food, such as meat and fish.

Normally, the product to treat is previously softened or chopped more orless finely in a first step, for being then put in an extraction machinein a second step. The extraction machines of the prior art areessentially made up of a fixed structure that comprises an aperturedsheet of cylindrical or conical shape, so-called “sieve”, and by anarmature with blades that rotates inside. The armature is mounted on ashaft and caused to rotate by a motor.

The chopped product, or softened, which enters extraction machine ispushed radially continuously by the blades against the sieve bycentrifugal force. This way it is filtered through the holes of thesieve, producing a puree and a liquid part of the product that isconveyed for being then subject to further treatments. The solid partthat cannot pass through the sieve, instead, is conveyed axiallyopposite to the inlet of the sieve and is automatically brought to adischarge station as a waste material. See on this argument patent No.IT1199392.

A known process of this kind, for example, is the so-called extractionat room temperature, which is carried out in two steps: a first step ofsoftening the food pulps through a plurality of pulses in quicksuccession and a second step of separation of the useful part (puree orjuice) from the waste solid parts, which is carried out in an extractingmachine as above described.

During the softening step the pulses in quick succession are obtained bya cylindrical or conical body, or stator, which has protrusions on itsinner surface, and by an armature having blades that rotates in thestator pushing by centrifugal force the food pulps against theprotrusions, and generating a series of pulses that cause the softeningof the food product. See on this subject matter patent n. IT1249363.

In the extraction process at room temperature, according to the state ofthe art above described, the steps of softening and extracting arecarried out in a single compact working unit that has a single motor:the respective softening and extracting armatures are mounted on thesame axis and rotate then at the same speed.

See FIG. 1 and the relative description below.

Another solution of the prior art described for example in WO2005039308comprises, instead, two different drives, respectively one for thesoftening step and another for the extracting step. This solutionpermits to treat more or less sensitive products, which are affected bythe softening step in a different way, and so to calibrate better theseparation between puree and solid parts.

The vegetables from which the puree can be obtained may be fresh orfrozen. Even if treating frozen products is much more expensive, becausethey stay more time in the production cycle than fresh products, usingfrozen products can be advantageous for keeping the vegetables withtime, for covering long distances of transportation and for keeping atmost the organoleptic qualities of the vegetables that would be quicklyreduced after harvesting.

Presently, in order to extract puree and/or juice from a vegetableproduct loaded at a temperature lower than zero degrees or in any casecompletely or partially frozen many different processes can be used.

The product is normally kept at different temperature under zero invarious forms and size, such as blocks, barrels, or IQF (IndividuallyQuick Frozen). In the first cases, they are vegetables previously frozenin parallelepiped shape, or also cylindrical shape with the size of astandard barrel of 200 kg. In the IQF case the vegetable product isfrozen singularly or in blocks and stored.

Being generically products that are kept frozen for many months and thenput on the market, it is necessary to maintain the taste and thequalitative features as much as possible unchanged, for not to spoilproducts with a higher value than the fresh products.

When exiting from a cold store (temp. from −40° C. to 0° C.) the frozenproducts have a hardness assimilated to that of the ice and cannot betreated with the devices for making puree from fresh vegetables oralready completely defrosted vegetables. Therefore, the product mustfirst be completely defrosted.

Normally, the mostly used defrosting systems are those that use vapouras heat exchange fluid, even if plants are known that use the electricenergy directly by means of resistances or indirectly by microwavesystems or other devices that exploit electric or magnetic fields. Theyprovide normally a conveyor belt for the product, which is of IQF type,up to a screw conveyor where a direct or indirect injection of thevapour is carried out. In the screw conveyor the product moves slowlyand is subject to gradual continuous heating up to a completedefrosting. A possible softening step to assist the extraction can becarried out.

One of the major problems that is met is that a completely defrostedproduct, in particular of vegetable nature, deteriorates quickly andeasily after defrosting. In fact, after only a few minutes fromdefrosting, enzymatic phenomena occur such as oxidation that cause achange of the colour, of the consistency and of the taste of theproduct.

In case of frozen product the extraction plant has some limits to theproduction rate, mainly given to the size of the blocks of frozenproduct to treat. Usually, in fact, the not IQF blocks of frozen productfed to the extraction plant are larger than 300×100×500 mm. In this casethe vegetable product is simply put in a plastic bag and frozen suchthat before freezing it forms a humid mix and by freezing it forms alarge single frozen block comprising a certain number of fruit pieces,or vegetables.

Some production rate limits also exist to the extraction plants also incase of fresh product of size larger than about 130-150 mm, as in thecase of pumpkins, watermelons, melons, etc. In fact, for treating theabove described types of vegetable products, the machines should haveexcessive size with respect to the capacity of the production line inwhich they are installed.

For overcoming the above described drawbacks, presently, upstream of themachines that perform the extraction of the puree, or the juice, fromthe starting vegetable product, grinding machines are arranged that cutand chop the fresh product, or frozen product, into parts of reducedsize and precisely from several mm to 1-2 cm. These grinding machinesare designed for cutting, or chopping, the vegetable product, or frozenproduct, into parts of size as small as possible, since the smaller thesize of the parts fed to the machines that perform the extraction, thehigher the efficiency of such machines.

For the above described features, the grinding machines presently used,therefore, often cause a deterioration of the vegetable product. Infact, both in the case of fresh product having temperature between about2° C. and 5° C., and in the case of frozen product having temperaturebetween about −40° C. and 0° C., the grinding step operated by thegrinding machine causes a break of the vegetable product, then freeingoxidative and pectolytic enzymes from the product before completing theextraction of the juice, or the puree, and, accordingly, jeopardizingthe quality of the final product.

Another drawback of the presently known extraction plants that treatfrozen vegetables, or fresh, of large size, consists of a feedingdiscontinuity that occurs in the extraction line owing to the presenceof both of machines that are only sized for operating with substantiallyconstant capacity, such as the extraction machines and the softeningmachines, and machines that work in a discontinuous way, like themachines that move bags, or barrels, of frozen product and that load theproduct in it contained on the conveying lines.

In WO2009/063309, in the name of the same applicant, a machine isdescribed for extracting puree or juice from frozen food. The machinecomprises an inlet duct through which the food products in the frozenstatus are fed. More in detail, the products enter the machine directlyas IQF or, in case of frozen products, from barrels, into parts smallerpreviously triturated and having, for example, size set between 50 mmand 200 mm.

The frozen products that are fed to the machine enter a shreddingsection comprising a rotor which can rotate at a high speed in a stator,where the product is subjected to pressure pulses in quick succession bythe movement of the frozen product between the rotor and the stator.This way, a shredding of the product into fragments of size less than 6mm and a partial defrosting of the same is obtained. Then, the partiallydefrosted fragments are fed to an extractor to obtain a puree or juiceby moving a sieve.

Also this solution has, therefore, the drawback above described and, inparticular, the possibility of damaging the food product during the stepof shredding the frozen product into fragments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is then a feature of the invention to provide a plant for extractingpuree, or fruit juice, which allows treating both fresh and frozenvegetables, of large size, i.e. of size larger than about 150 mm,without affecting the soundness of the treated vegetables and,accordingly, avoiding affecting the quality of the final product.

It is also a feature of the present invention to provide such a plantfor extracting puree, or fruit juice, which allows treating both freshand frozen vegetables, of large size, obtaining a high production rate.

It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a method forextracting puree, or fruit juice, from vegetables of large size that hasthe same advantages.

These and other objects are achieved by a plant for extracting puree, orjuice, from a food product, in particular a product of vegetable origin,or animal, that is fed at least partly frozen as a block, or cake, eachblock, or cake containing a plurality of only food products havingpredetermined size, said plant comprising:

a treating machine for treating a starting product obtaining a treatedproduct;

a cold extraction machine located downstream of said treating machine,in said extraction machine a rotor is arranged configured to work incombination with a sieve having a plurality of holes, in order toseparate said treated product into a main product comprising said puree,or juice, which crosses said sieve and is discharged through a firstoutlet, and into a waste material that, instead, cannot cross said sieveand is discharged through a second outlet;

a division machine located upstream of said treating machine, in saiddivision machine a division means is arranged to divide said foodproduct of vegetable origin into parts of reduced size that can be fedto said treating machine;

whose main feature is that said division means is arranged to dividesaid block, or cake, into parts of a predetermined size andsubstantially corresponding to the original size of a single foodproduct of said plurality.

According to another aspect of the invention, a plant for coldextraction of puree, or juice, from a fresh food product, in particulara food product of vegetable origin, or animal, comprises:

a treating machine for treating a starting product obtaining a treatedproduct;

a cold extraction machine located downstream of the treating machine, insaid extraction machine a rotor is arranged configured to work incombination with a sieve having a plurality of holes, in order toseparate said treated product into a main product comprising said puree,or juice, which crosses said sieve and is discharged through a firstoutlet, and into a waste material that, instead, cannot cross said sieveand is discharged through a second outlet;

a division machine located upstream of said treating machine, in saiddivision machine a division means is arranged to divide said foodproduct into parts of reduced size that can be fed to said treatingmachine;

whose main feature is that said division means is arranged to dividesaid food product into parts of size set between 50 mm and 130.

In particular, the division means can divide the fresh food product intoparts of size set between 80 mm and 110 mm.

Advantageously, the division means is arranged to divide the foodproduct into parts of size set between about 95 mm and about 105 mm, forexample about 100 mm.

In particular, the division means can be operatively connected toshaping means arranged to establish a predetermined size of saidproducts contained in said block, or cake, or of said fresh foodproduct.

Advantageously, the shaping means can be associated with a detectionmeans configured to measure the size of a single product and to generatea corresponding measurement signal, said shaping means arranged tooperate said division means to cause said division of said product intoparts of size substantially corresponding to the size detected by saidmeans for detecting.

Alternatively, the shaping means can comprise a means for selecting apredetermined food product among a predetermined plurality of foodproducts. In this case, the shaping means is adapted to associate to theselected product a predetermined size corresponding substantially to asingle product of the selected species.

In addition, or alternatively, the shaping means comprises a means forselecting a determined size of the single product.

In particular, the treating machine can be selected from the groupconsisting of:

a softening machine arranged to soften the starting food product througha plurality of pulses in quick succession obtaining a softened product;

a grinding machine arranged to grind the starting food product;

a chopping machine arranged to chop the starting food product;

a machine in which the product is caused to pass through a first sieve;

a machine in which a cut is obtained of the starting food product;

or a combination thereof.

In a first exemplary embodiment, the division means can comprise acutting means that is arranged to cut said food product of vegetableorigin for dividing it into a predetermined number of parts having sizeset between 50 mm and 130 mm. Such structure is used in particular ifthe starting vegetable or animal food is a fresh product, i.e. it is fedto the plant at a temperature higher than 0° C. without having beenpreviously subject to freezing processes.

In the case in which, instead, the treated product is a food product, inparticular of vegetable origin, which is at least in part frozen, thedivision means comprise a division roller housed within a divisionchamber and arranged to rotate about a rotation axis. The divisionroller is advantageously provided on the outer surface of a plurality ofteeth configured to penetrate at least partially in said block, or cake,at least partly frozen for dividing it into parts of size substantiallycorresponding to a single piece contained in the frozen product.

Preferably, the teeth of the division roller have curved profile.

Advantageously, in the division chamber a grid is provided, or areticular structure, having meshes of predetermined size, advantageouslyof size substantially equivalent to the single piece contained in theblock, or cake, of frozen product. More in detail, the grid is adaptedto keep the parts of size larger than the size of the meshes that are,then, further crossed by the teeth, which can have a curved profile, upto forcing the parts to pass downstream of the grid, obtaining a sizeless than the meshes of the grid.

Advantageously, the treating machine comprises:

a first feeding duct arranged to connect the division machine with thetreating machine;

at least a second feeding duct for a food product;

a means for selectively connecting said first and said second feedingduct with said treating machine, in order to feed to said treatingmachine, respectively, parts of size set between 50 mm and 130 mmobtained by said division machine, or a whole food product of sizealready set between 50 mm and 130 mm to the treating machine.

Advantageously, furthermore, a lifting conveyor means is providedarranged to lift a food product from a first height h1 to a secondheight h2.

In particular, the lifting conveyor means, for example a sloped conveyorbelt, can be located upstream of the division machine. In this case, thelifting conveyor means is arranged to lift fresh food, or at leastpartially frozen, from a first height h1 to a second height h2 at whichthe food product is put in the division machine.

Alternatively, the lifting conveyor means can be arranged between thedivision machine and the treating machine. In this case, the liftingconveyor means is arranged to lift parts of food product, in particularof size set between about 50 mm and about 130 mm, obtained by thedivision machine from a first height h1 to a second height h2 at whichthe parts of food product are put in the treating machine.

In particular, the lifting conveyor means is associated with a weighingmeans configured to measure the weight of said food products, such thatit is possible to feed in a controlled way the food product to thedivision machine, or to the treating machine. In particular, the liftingconveyor means and the weighing means is configured to provide asubstantially constant supply of the food product.

The weighing means, for example, can comprise at least one load cell areconfigured to measure the product and to generate a correspondingelectric weight signal for sending it, then, to a control meansoperatively connected to motor means of said division machine. This way,by adjusting the motor means, advantageously having an inverter, of thedivision machine and the speed of the lifting conveyor means it ispossible to feed in a controlled way and substantially fixed the productto treat to the division machine.

Advantageously, the cutting machine comprises:

a conveying means operated by first motor means, said conveying meansarranged to cause the movement of said food product along a conveyingdirection with a predetermined conveying speed;

a cutting means arranged along said feeding direction, said cuttingmeans being operated by a second motor means in order to cut said feedinto parts of predetermined size at a predetermined cutting speed;

an adjustment means for said first and of said second motor means, saidadjustment means arranged to control said conveying speed and saidcutting speed in order to adjust the size of the cut parts of said foodproduct.

In particular, the cutting means is operated by a motor means, saidcutting means comprising a tubular portion which is integral to at leastone cutting blade, said tubular portion mounted directly to a driveshaft of said motor means and comprised of a thrust bearing mounted tosaid tubular portion.

Advantageously, if said food product is provided frozen in bags, orbarrels, a loading means is provided for load to said division machinecomprising a gripping means of said bag, or barrel. In particular, thegripping means is slidingly mounted to a support structure for raisingsaid bag, or barrel, from a gripping height hp to a discharging heighths at which said bag, or barrel is tilted for putting its content ofsaid division machine through a feeding inlet.

In particular, the cutting means can comprise a movable cutting means,in particular of the type above described, and a fixed cutting means,for example with an arc shape. More in detail, the fixed cutting meansis arranged integral to a body of the cutting machine at an upstreamposition of the movable cutting means with respect to the conveyingdirection of the product in the machine same. In particular, the fixedcutting means have a profiled cutting edge arranged to provide apreliminary cut of the food product before that it reaches the movablecutting means.

According to a further aspect of the invention, a method for extractingpuree, or fruit juice, from a food product, in particular from a foodproduct of vegetable origin, or animal, comprises the steps of:

treating a starting product obtaining a treated product;

carrying out a cold extraction of the product, by a rotor that isconfigured to work in combination with a sieve having a plurality ofholes, in order to separate said treated product into a main productcomprising said puree, or juice, which crosses said sieve and isdischarged through a first outlet, and into a waste material that,instead, cannot cross said sieve and is discharged through a secondoutlet;

carrying out a division of said food product upstream of said treatingstep, said division configured to make parts of a predetermined sizearranged to undergo said treating step;

setting said predetermined size of said parts, said predetermined sizecorresponding substantially to the original size of a single product ofsaid plurality;

and wherein said division is arranged to divide said block, or cake, offrozen product into parts having said predetermined size chosen in saidstep of setting.

According to still a further aspect of the invention a method for coldextraction of puree, or fruit juice, from a fresh food product, inparticular a food product of vegetable origin, or animal, comprises thesteps of:

treating a starting product obtaining a treated product;

cold extraction of said product, said extraction being obtained by arotor that is configured to work in combination with a sieve having aplurality of holes, in order to separate said treated product into amain product comprising said puree, or juice, which crosses said sieveand is discharged through a first outlet, and into a waste materialthat, instead, cannot cross said sieve and is discharged through asecond outlet;

carrying out a division of said food product upstream of said treatingstep, said division configured to make parts of a predetermined sizearranged to undergo said treating step;

wherein the division is made by a division means arranged to divide thefood product into parts of size set between 50 mm and 130.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be now shown with the following description of anexemplary embodiment thereof, exemplifying but not limitative, withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a perspective elevational side view of afirst exemplary embodiment of a plant, according to the invention, forextracting puree, or juice, from products of vegetable origin of largesize;

FIG. 2 shows the plant of FIG. 1 an elevational side view thereof;

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 show an elevational side view of somepossible exemplary embodiments of the plant of FIG. 1 provided by thepresent invention;

FIGS. 9 and 10 show respectively an elevational side view and anelevational front view with cross sectioned details of a first exemplaryembodiment of the division means of the invention;

FIG. 11 shows an elevational side view of the division machine in whichthe division means of FIGS. 9 and 10 are housed;

FIG. 12 shows a partial cross sectional view of an exemplary embodimentof the division machine shown in FIGS. 9 to 11;

FIG. 13 shows in detail an elevational front view of the division meanshoused within the division machine of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 shows an elevational side view of a further exemplary embodimentof the plant of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 diagrammatically shows a partial cross sectional view of anexemplary embodiment of the division machine of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 shows a perspective elevational side view of the auxiliary fixedcutting means that has the machine of FIG. 15.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1 for example a plant 1 is shown, according to the invention,for cold extraction of puree, or juice, from a food product, inparticular of vegetable origin, or animal. The plant 1 comprises atreating machine, for example a softening machine 20 arranged to softena starting product obtaining a softened product through the transmissionof a succession of pulses in quick succession, as described inIT1249363.

Downstream of the treating machine 20 a cold extraction machine 30 isthen provided in which, in a known way and for example as described inIT1199392, but not shown in detail in the figures, advantageously arotor is arranged that operates in combination with a sieve having aplurality of holes, in order to separate the product, in particularsoftened, or chopped, into a main product comprising the puree, or thejuice, which crosses the sieve and is discharged through a first outlet,and into a waste material that, instead, cannot cross the sieve and isdischarged through a second outlet. The treating machine, for examplethe softening machine 20 and the extraction machine 30, can be combinedin a single machine as shown in FIG. 3, or two separate machines. In thelatter case the outlet of the softening machine 20 is connected to theentrance of the extraction machine 30 by at least one connection duct;on this subject see for example FIG. 1.

According to the invention, upstream of the treating machine 20 adivision machine is provided 40, or 40′, in which a division meansoperate arranged to divide the starting food product into parts ofpredetermined size.

More in detail, in case of frozen food product, the division means 50′is adapted to cause the division of the frozen product 102 into parts103 of size substantially equivalent to the single piece contained inthe block, or cake, 102.

Instead, in case of fresh vegetables, i.e. preserved at a temperatureset between about 2 and 4° C., a division means is provided 50 arrangedto cause the division of the vegetable product 100 into parts 105 ofsize set between 50 mm and 130 mm, advantageously, set between 80 mm and110 mm, for example about 100 mm, which are fed to the above describedtreating machine 20.

In an exemplary embodiment, the division means 50 comprises a cuttingmeans 53 arranged to cut the food product 100, for example pumpkins,watermelons, and other pieces of food of similar size, for dividing theminto a predetermined number of parts of a predetermined size, forexample set between 50 mm and 130 mm.

The food products 100 can be sent to the division machine 40 by aconveyor belt 93 (FIG. 3), or a lifting conveyor belt 90 (FIG. 4),according to the position of the division machine 40 with respect to theother apparatus for the plant 1.

The cutting means 53 can comprise a certain number of knives, forexample 3 cutting blades 53 a, 53 b and 53 c, integral to a tubularsupport 57 mounted directly to the shaft 54 of a motor 55.

In a possible exemplary embodiment, instead, the division machinecomprises a division chamber 45 in which a division means 50′ operates,arranged to divide the food product, at least in part frozen, into aplurality of parts of a predetermined size. More in detail, asdiagrammatically shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a block, or cake of frozenfood product, in particular of vegetable origin, contains more products,for example fruit, such as strawberries, of reduced size compacted setin a block frozen product 102. In this case, the division means 50′ arearranged to divide the cake, or block, of vegetable frozen product intoparts of size substantially equivalent to the of a single vegetableproduct, for example of a single fruit, such as a strawberries 103. Forexample, the division means 50′ may comprise, in this case, a divisionroller 47 arranged to rotate about a rotation axis 147 operated by amotor means 46 and equipped on the side surface with a plurality ofteeth 48, in particular having curved profile.

Teeth 48 are adapted to penetrate the product, i.e. a frozen product102, containing normally many food pieces of small size, such asstrawberries, dividing it into parts 103 of a predetermined size andselected according to the type of frozen treated product. The teeth 47are configured to penetrate the blocks, or cakes, of product at least inpart frozen, avoiding in the meantime to smash them and, accordingly, todamage the single fruit pieces that, therefore, remain integer. Apreferred exemplary embodiment provides that teeth 48 have a curvedprofile to overcome the difficulties of the grinding machines of theprior art that cut the frozen food product with sharp teeth, or smashthem, damaging unavoidably the taste of the food product same.

More in detail, a predetermined number of groups can be provided, forexample, four groups 48 a, 48 b, 48 c and 48 d of teeth with curvedprofile arranged at predetermined angular positions of the rollersurface 47, in order to alternate zones 47 a of the roller in whichteeth 48 are provided to zones 47 b of the roller without teeth 48.

In the division chamber 45, furthermore, a grid 49 can be providedhaving meshes of predetermined size for example substantially equivalentto that of the frozen treated product, and delimiting with a wall 44 thedivision chamber 45. More in detail, the presence of grid 49 is adaptedto keep, in division chamber 45, the parts of product having size largerthan the size of the meshes that are, then further penetrated by teeth48. This way, it is reduced further the size of the parts of foodproduct at least partly frozen present in the division chamber 45 up toobtaining parts of size less than the meshes that then pass go beyondgrid 49.

According to the invention, furthermore, roller 47 is provided removablefor being replaced with a different roller 47, in particular havingteeth with curved profile 48 with different shape and distributed in adifferent way on its side surface. In particular, according to the typeand the size of the frozen vegetable product it is possible to use aroller 47 configured to provide the division of a block into parts ofsize substantially corresponding to the single fruit piece.

The plant 1 can further comprise a lifting conveyor means 90.

In an exemplary embodiment, the lifting conveyor means 90, for example asloped conveyor belt, is located upstream of the division machine 40, or40′, and performs the lifting of the still integer fresh products, suchas fruit and vegetables of large size that require the division intoparts of size set between 50 mm and 130 mm. The fresh vegetables areraised by the lifting conveyor means 90 by a starting height h1 to afinal height h2, with h2>h1, at which they are introduced, for exampleby a hopper, in the division machine 40′ (FIGS. 3 and 8).

In the exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 7, instead, thelifting conveyor means 90 is arranged between the division machine 40,40′ and the treating machine 20. In this case, the lifting conveyormeans 90 is adapted to bring the parts discharged by the divisionmachine 40 having size set between about 50 and about 130 mm, from theheight h1 to the height h2, at which the parts are put in the treatingmachine 20.

In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the lifting conveyor means 90 isassociated with a weighing means 190, for example one or more loadcells, configured to measure instantly the weight of the food, or piecesof food, which are arranged on the lifting conveyor means 90 and togenerate a corresponding electric weight signal that is sent to acontrol means operatively connected to the motor means 47, or 56, of thedivision machine 40, or 40′. This way, it is possible to adjust themotor means 47, or 56, and the conveyor means 90 on the basis of theelectric weight signal, for feeding in a controlled and fixed way thefood, or the parts of food to the treating machine 20.

As shown in detail in FIG. 12, in the cutting machine 40′ a conveyingmeans is provided 156, for example a screw conveyor, operated by a firstmotor means 56, for causing the movement of the food product insertedthrough an inlet 51, along a conveying direction 155 with apredetermined speed.

In the cutting machine 40′, furthermore, cutting means 53 is arrangedalong the conveying direction 155 and configured to cut the freshproduct of vegetable origin 100 into parts 105 of size set between 50 mmand 130 mm with a predetermined cutting speed for being then dischargedby the machine through an outlet 52.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 12 and 13, the cutting means 53 can bemovable, for example operated by a second motor means 55, or it can befixed, i.e. integral to the body 151 of the machine 40, or it can be acombination thereof.

The cutting means 53 can comprise a tubular portion 57 integral to apredetermined number of cutting knives, for example three cutting blades53 a, 53 b and 53 c (FIG. 13). The tubular portion 57 can beadvantageously mounted directly to a drive shaft 157 of the motor means55. Such technical solution avoids the use of a shaft held by twocouples of bearings and connected to the motor 55 by means of a jointand, accordingly, of making remarkably easier the structure of machine40′. However, for reducing the actions on drive shaft 157 and, inparticular, the axial forces, a thrust bearing 59 is mounted between thetubular portion 57 and the body of machine 40′. In particular, thetubular portion 57 is slidingly arranged on the drive shaft 157 by aaxial flexible connection, for example a ring of deformable material, orwith a spring ring.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 15 and 16, in addition to themovable cutting blade 53 a fixed cutting blade 153 can be provided, forexample with an arc shape. More in detail, the fixed blade 153 isarranged integral to the body 151 of the cutting machine 40′ upstream ofthe movable cutting means 53 with respect to the conveying direction 155of the product in machine 40′. In particular, the fixed cutting means153 is adapted to provide a preliminary cut of the food product by aprofiled cutting edge 154 before it reaches the movable cutting means53.

Furthermore, an adjustment means can be provided 300 of the first and/orthe second motor means 55, 56, for example having an inverter. More indetail, according to the invention the adjustment means 300 allowsadjusting the speed and, accordingly, the cutting speed in order tocontrol the size of the cut parts 105 of the food product.

More in detail, if both movable cutting means 53 operated by a motormeans 55 and fixed cutting means 153 are provided, or only a movablecutting means 53 is provided, it is possible to control the speed of thecut made through the machine by adjusting the motor means 55 and/or themotor means 56.

If the food product is provided to the plant 1 frozen and contained inbags, or barrels 200, a loading means 120 is provided to the divisionmachine 40 comprising a gripping means 121 of the bag, or barrel 200,sliding on a support structure 122 for bringing the bag, or barrel 200,from a gripping height hp to a discharging height hs at which the bag,or barrel 200, is tilted and its content is put in the division machine40 through a loading mouth 41 (FIG. 1).

In a further exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2 both a loading means 120upstream of the division machine 40 and a lifting conveyor means 90 arearranged between the division machine 40 and the treating machine 20.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 5, instead, only the loading means120 are provided upstream of the division machine 40. In this case, thelayout of the plant 1 provides the division machine 40 above thetreating machine 20 such that the movement of the parts of food productby the division machine 40 to the treating machine 20 is made throughgravity.

The bags, or barrels 200, of frozen product can be arranged at first ona conveyor belt, for example a roller conveyor belt 130 arranged tocause the movement of the same along a conveying direction 155 andarrange, then the bags, or barrels 200 at the loading means 120.

In an exemplary embodiment, along the conveying direction 155 isarranged a preliminary heating station 230 at which a heating means isprovided not shown in detail in the figure, for example a vapour jet, ora electric winding heat exchanger, which is arranged to cause a firstdefrosting of the barrels 200 to assist the following step ofdischarging the food contained in the bags, or barrels 200 same in thedivision machine 40, or 40′. More in detail, the quick defrosting madein the preliminary station 230 is adapted to detach the frozen food fromthe inner surface of the barrels, or bags 200.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the plant 1 can comprise also a de-aerationstation 110, in which de-aerating the product, and/or a station ofenzymatic inactivation 140 in which, as well known, the product isheated for being brought to a temperature higher than a temperature ofenzymatic inactivation. Furthermore, other machines can be provided totreat the product by further processes before its final exit from plant1.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, as shown in FIG. 14, afirst feeding duct 23 is provided arranged to connect the divisionmachine 40, or 40′, with the treating machine 20 and at least one secondfeeding duct 24 arranged to connect the treating machine 20 same with adevice for loading the vegetables that do not require a reduction of thesize because already of a predetermined size, in particular less than130 mm. The first and the second feeding duct 23 and 24 can be operatedselectively for feeding to the treating machine 20, respectively, theparts of food product from the division machine 40, or 40′, or the foodas such.

The foregoing description of specific exemplary embodiments will sofully reveal the invention according to the conceptual point of view, sothat others, by applying current knowledge, will be able to modifyand/or adapt in various applications the specific exemplary embodimentswithout further research and without parting from the invention, and,accordingly, it is meant that such adaptations and modifications willhave to be considered as equivalent to the specific embodiments. Themeans and the materials to realise the different functions describedherein could have a different nature without, for this reason, departingfrom the field of the invention. It is to be understood that thephraseology or terminology that is employed herein is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A plant for cold extraction of puree, orjuice, from a food product of vegetable, or animal, origin comprising: atreating machine for treating a product entering the treating machineobtaining a treated product exiting the treating machine, wherein saidtreating machine is selected from a group consisting of: a softeningmachine arranged to soften the product entering the machine through aplurality of pulses in quick succession obtaining a softened product; agrinding machine arranged to grind the product entering the grindingmachine; a chopping machine arranged to chop the product entering thechopping machine; a first machine in which the starting product iscaused to pass through a sieve; a second machine in which a cut isobtained of the starting product entering the machine; or a combinationthereof; a cold extraction machine located downstream of said treatingmachine, in said extraction machine a rotor being arranged configured towork in combination with a sieve having a plurality of holes, in orderto separate said treated product into a main product comprising saidpuree, or juice, which crosses said sieve and is discharged through afirst outlet, and into a waste material that, instead, cannot cross saidsieve and is discharged through a second outlet; a cutting machinelocated upstream of said treating machine, in said cutting machine acutting means being provided arranged to cut said food product ofvegetable or animal origin into parts of predetermined size that can befed to said treating machine; wherein the cutting machine is positionedabove the treating machine; wherein the parts of food product ofpredetermined size move by gravity from the cutting machine to thetreating machine; and wherein a lifting conveyor means is, furthermoreprovided positioned upstream of the cutting machine, the liftingconveyor means arranged to lift the food product from a first height h1to a second height h2 at which the food product is introduced in thecutting machine.
 2. The plant according to claim 1, wherein said cuttingmeans is arranged to cut said food product into a predetermined numberof parts having size set between 80 mm and 110 mm.
 3. The plantaccording to claim 1, wherein said cutting means is arranged to cut saidfood product into a predetermined number of parts having size setbetween 95 mm and 105 mm.
 4. The plant according to claim 1, whereinsaid treating machine comprises: a first feeding duct arranged toconnect said cutting machine with said treating machine; at least asecond feeding duct of a food product arranged to connect the treatingmachine with a device for loading arranged to feed directly to thetreating machine bypassing the cutting machine a food product ofvegetable or animal origin that do not require to pass through thecutting machine for a reduction of the size because already of thepredetermined size; a means for selectively connecting said first andsaid second feeding duct with said treating machine, in order to feed tosaid treating machine, respectively, parts of size set between 50 mm and130 mm obtained by said cutting machine, or a food product of vegetableor animal origin that has a size already set between 50 mm and 130 mm.5. The plant according to claim 1, wherein the lifting conveyor means isassociated with a weighing means configured to measure the weight ofsaid food products in order to feed in a controlled way the food productto the cutting machine, or to the treating machine, the lifting conveyormeans and the weighing means being configured to provide a substantiallyconstant supply of the food product of vegetable, or animal, origin. 6.The plant according to claim 1, wherein the cutting machine comprises: aconveying means operated by a first motor means, said conveying meansbeing arranged to move said food product of vegetable or animal originalong a conveying direction at a determined speed; a cutting meansarranged along said conveying direction for cutting said food product ofvegetable or animal origin into cut parts of predetermined size.
 7. Theplant according to claim 6, wherein the cutting means is selected fromthe group consisting of: a movable cutting means; a fixed cutting meansintegral to a body of the cutting machine; or a combination thereof. 8.The plant according to claim 7, wherein the movable cutting meanscomprises at least one cutting blade, the movable cutting means beingoperated by a second motor means arranged to cause the at least onecutting blade to rotate about a rotation axis.
 9. The plant according toclaim 8, wherein an adjustment means is provided for adjusting the speedof rotation of at least one between the first and the second motor meansresponsive to the size of the cut parts of said food product ofvegetable or animal origin, in order to control the size of the cutparts into which the food product is cut by the cutting means.
 10. Theplant according to claim 8, wherein the movable cutting means comprisesa tubular portion integral to the, or each, cutting blade, the tubularportion being mounted directly to a drive shaft of the second motormeans, and wherein the cutting means, furthermore, comprises a thrustbearing mounted on said tubular portion.
 11. The plant according toclaim 10, wherein the tubular portion is slidingly mounted on the driveshaft by an axial flexible connection.
 12. The plant according to claim11, wherein the flexible connection is selected from the groupconsisting of a ring of deformable material, or a spring ring.
 13. Theplant according to claim 7, wherein the fixed cutting means is a fixedarc-shaped cutting blade.
 14. The plant according to claim 7, whereinthe cutting means comprises a movable cutting means and a fixed cuttingmeans, the fixed cutting means being arranged at an upstream position ofthe movable cutting means with respect to the conveying direction of theproduct in the cutting machine, the fixed cutting means having aprofiled cutting edge arranged to provide a preliminary cut of said foodproduct of vegetable or animal origin before that it reaches the movablecutting means.
 15. The plant according to claim 1, wherein thepredetermined size is set between 50 mm and 130 mm.